1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcast program recording apparatus and a program for executing a broadcast program reproducing process.
2. Description of the Relates Art
In addition to BS broadcasts by making use of a broadcast satellite and CS broadcasts by making use of a communication satellite, which are now available, digital terrestrial broadcasts are starting to provide their services.
In Japan, for example, in addition to BS broadcasts by making use of a broadcast satellite and CS broadcasts by making use of a communication satellite, which are now providing services, digital terrestrial broadcasts started providing their services in local areas from December, 2003 and all the conventional analog terrestrial broadcasts are scheduled to be replaced with the digital terrestrial broadcasts in 2011. In the digital terrestrial broadcast, plural sorts of information such as video information, audio information and character information are multiplexed into multiplex MPEG-2 transport stream by OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system, wherein information of a frequency band of about 6 MHz is divided into 13 segments to be transferred. That is, one segment consists of a frequency band of about 429 KHz, and 13 segments are combined into one channel of about 6 MHz. 10 segments to 13 segments out of the 13 segments are to be used to broadcast a high-definition high-quality television (HDTV) for stationary TV receivers with large display screens. In addition, simple motion-image broadcasts using a single-segment is planed to start providing the services for mobile terminals with small display screens, such as cellular phones, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), portable TV receivers and car navigators.
Therefore, it is possible to record broadcast programs not only with stationary TV receivers but with mobile terminals such as cellular phones, and environments in which recorded broadcast program can be reproduced not only at home but at any places outside home are developing. Images of commercial broadcasts (CM) will become a problem in reproducing a recorded broadcast program. In bilingual broadcasts such as movie programs, it is possible to skip CM portions automatically by separating CM portions from the program portion depending on audio signals, but it is not possible in recorded normal program data (not bilingual broadcast) to separate CM portions from the program portion depending on audio signals. Therefore, a user is required to operate an apparatus to execute a fast forward operation to skip CM portion during reproducing the normal program data, but it is extremely difficult for the user to execute the fast forward operation every CM portion to skip them. In particular, when the user is viewing a TV program on the mobile terminal, which the user carries outside home, such as a cellular phone, PDA, portable TV receiver and car navigator, the user often cannot operate his or her apparatus to execute the fast forward operation without any restriction.
Although such apparatus does not skip images of CM, JP 2004-140675 A (patent document) discloses the recording apparatus, which reproduces a recorded TV program data, skipping some portions of the program data, depending on audio signals included in TV broadcast program. Such apparatus does not require the user to operate any troublesome manipulation to search for and skip to important scenes and/or exciting scenes often with BGM played in the program. Upon detection of the beginning of BGM, the apparatus sends BGM detection signal, and upon detection of BGM switched, the apparatus sends switched-BGM detection signal. In the apparatus, time data of the BGM detection signal or switched-BGM detection signal is recorded as separation data, which are used to separate the recorded program data, and recorded at the leading positions of the separated program data (chapters) on a recording medium. Thumbnail images of leading images of the separated chapters are recorded on the recording medium in association with the time data. When the program data stored on the recording medium is reproduced, the thumbnail image of each chapter is displayed. When a thumbnail image is chosen, the chapter (separated program data) corresponding to the chosen thumbnail image is reproduced from its leading portion.
In the apparatus disclosed in the above patent document, when CM is detected in the program data by CM detecting unit, CM detection signal is sent out, and even though BGM is played or BGM is switched during CM period, the program data is not separated into chapters. However, in the patent document is given no specific description on how the CM detecting means detects CM portion in the program data. In conventional techniques including the apparatus disclosed in the above patent document, when general program data, in which CM portions cannot be separated from the program portion based on audio data, is recorded, no specific arrangement is provided for detecting such CM portions involved in the program data during a reproducing operation.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and has an object to provide an apparatus and a computer program, which can reproduce a recorded broadcast program data with CM portions skipped.